About the lecturer

Professor Jane S. Gerber is Assistant Professor of Jewish History at the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. She is the author of Jewish Society in Fez and editor of The Jewish People: Ethnographic Studies and has written and lectured widely on the Jewish-Muslim encounter.

Professor Gerber received her B.A. from Wellesley College (Phi Beta Kappa), her M.A. from the Harvard University Center for Middle Eastern Studies and her Ph.D. in Jewish and Islamic History from Columbia University. She is Vice-President of the Association for Jewish Studies and is the Book Review Editor of Jewish Social Studies, the editor of Shoah: A Review of Holocaust Studies and Commemorations and on the Editorial Board of the Reconstructionist.

Hazzan Abraham Mizrakhi was born in Greece and made his cantorial debut at the age of thirteen. In the United States since 1956, he received an extensive musical education here and graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. His artistry, especially in the Sephardic liturgy and musical heritage, has been widely acclaimed.